Using Talcum Powder for Lifting Isn’t Worth It — Here’s Why

So, you’ve probably been using talcum powder to lubricate your quadriceps during lifting, and you don’t see it as a problem. If you have no idea what talcum powder is and don’t know what I’m talking about, then you know it as baby powder. There’s nothing wrong with baby powder, right? That’s the stuff they use on babies.

Well, baby powder contains something known as talcum powder as one of its ingredients. While the rest of the baby powder is harmless, there’s an interesting story to the talcum powder.

Talcum powder has been in the middle of quite a number of legal confrontations recently, with the most high profile one being one that involved the large pharmaceutical company, Johnson & Johnson. Collectively, 22 women were awarded $4 billion as part of a suit they had filed against Johnson & Johnson. The reason was that they claimed that the company’s baby powder product had given them ovarian cancer.

Talc Is the Real Culprit

One of the ingredients in talcum powder, also known as baby powder, is talc. Talc is a mineral which, in its natural form, contains asbestos. Asbestos is well known to the cause of different types of cancer. Talc is also considered to be dangerous as a result.

With talc, there are two kinds. There is the natural form of the mineral, which contains asbestos and is a potential carcinogen. Then, there is the refined form, from which all of the asbestos has been supposedly removed. Companies like Johnson & Johnson claim that the kind of talc they use in their baby powder has been rid of all asbestos and is, therefore, perfectly safe for use.

With talc, there are two kinds of fears, just like there are two kinds of talc. The first is that the people who work directly with talc could inhale it in the course of their work and potentially get lung cancer. Many studies have been done in this area, and they show that this type of talc is dangerous and could lead to lung cancer for those who inhale it, especially considering the fact that it contains asbestos.

The second kind of fear is the one that some of the talc contained in talcum powder, even if it is supposedly safe, could find its way inside the body and lead to cancer. For women, some studies have been done that confirm that such talc particles could potentially find their way up the genital tract and into the fallopian tube, where they could wreak havoc if they came into contact with the ovaries.

What Does Any of This Have to Do with Bodybuilders?

As a bodybuilder or someone who works out with weights frequently, you’re probably wondering what any of this has to do with you. Well, it’s simple. The results are inconclusive, and no one quite knows the full dangers of talcum powder. Could it cause some kind of cancer in a man if it found its way into his body? Nobody knows. Do you want to find out? I would think not. For now, the safest thing to do would be to wait until more conclusive information was revealed on just how safe talcum powder is. Until then, get a different lubricant.